Discussion: 1/2 strategy

My classic strategy for a half is to start out at a fast but comfortable pace. That was usually a few seconds faster than my full marathon pace. Most of my. Half marathons were a lead up to a full marathon, so I was usually on the top of my endurance game. I was also tired from all of the miles I'd put in which helped temper the enthusiasm and kept my pace realistic. Unless I was in a real battle at the end I usually finished at a slight bit faster than tempo. According to my training plans these were supposed to be marathon paced runs...
On the few occasions that the half was a "race" and I was shooting for a PR I would start a bit slower than goal pace and try to pick up the pace throughout the race. Oddly enough my PR is from a marathon training run.

Happy New Year Phil (in Feb)! Either strategy sounds fine to me. I have done 2 halves (in 1991 and 1992) and wound up with identical times over 2 different courses (1.20.46). But I put a lot of training effort into those races. This is a different kettle of fish and I suspect the best strategy is to go steady at 4.30 / k pace and see what happens!

How is the O going?

Happy New year to you too! 4.30 pace sounds pretty solid. Good luck!
My O hasn't really started yet. I did race http://www.attackpoint.org/eventdetail.jsp?eventid...
a few weeks ago, and I find my concentration and endurance lacking. So far we don't have much happening around here training or race-wise until March. Hopefully I'll be both in better shape and ready to run smart.